There are nine subspecies of tiger, three of which are extinct and one of which is almost certain to
become so in the near future.

Tiger Name

Defination

Sumatran tiger(Panthera tigris sumatrae)

is found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The wild population is estimated at between 400 and 500
animals, occurring predominantly in the island’s five national parks. Recent genetic testing has revealed the presence
of unique genetic markers, indicating that it may develop into a separate species, if it is not made extinct. This has led
to suggestions that Sumatran Tigers should have greater priority for conservation than any other subspecies. Habitat
destruction is the main threat to the existing tiger population (logging continues even in the supposedly protected
national parks), but 66 tigers were recorded as being shot and killed between 1998 and 2000—nearly 20% of the total population.

South China tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis)

also known as the Amoy or Xiamen tiger, is the most critically endangered subspecies of tiger, and will almost
certainly become extinct. It seems likely that the last known wild South Chinese tiger was shot and killed in 1994, and
no live tigers have been seen in their natural habitat for the last 20 years. In 1959, Mao Zedong declared the tiger to be
a pest, and numbers quickly fell from about 4,000 to approximately 200 in 1976. In 1977 the Chinese government reversed
the law, and banned the killing of wild tigers, but this appears to have been too late to save the subspecies. There are
currently 59 known captive Chinese tigers, all within China, but these are known to be descended from only 6 animals.
Thus, the genetic diversity required to maintain the subspecies no longer exists, making its eventual extinction very likely.

Indochinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti)

also called Corbett's tiger, is found in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Estimates of
its population vary between 1,200 to 1,800, but it seems likely that the number is in the lower part of the range. The
largest current population is in Malaysia, where illegal poaching is strictly controlled, but all existing populations are
at extreme risk from habitat fragmentation and inbreeding. In Vietnam, almost three-quarters of the tigers killed provide
stock for Chinese pharmacies. Also the tigers are seen by poor natives as a resource through which they can ease poverty.

Royal Bengal tiger( (Panthera tigris tigris)

is largely found in the Sundarbans, a national forest of Bangladesh and of West Bengal, India. According to recent
counts in a joint effort of the Bangladesh and Indian governments, there are about 800 tigers in this area. The Bengal Tiger
is also found in Nepal and Bhutan. It is the national animal of both Bangladesh and India. Even though this is the
most 'common' tiger, these tigers are under severe pressure from both habitat reduction and from poaching. However there
is a debate that there aren't as many tigers in the sunderbans, but are more sparsley populated over India, Nepal and
Bangladesh.

Malayan tiger(Panthera tigris jacksoni)

exclusively found in the southern (Malaysian) part of the Malay Peninsula, which until 2004 wasn't considered a
subspecies in its own right. The new classification came about after a study by Luo et al from the Laboratory of Genomic
Diversity Study, part of the National Cancer Institute, US. Recent counts showed there are 600-800 tigers in the wild,
making it the largest tiger population other than the Bengal Tiger. The Malayan Tiger is a national icon in Malaysia, appearing
on its coat of arms and in logos of Malaysian institutions such as Maybank.

Balinese tiger (Panthera tigris balica)

has always been limited to the island of Bali. These tigers were hunted to extinction—the last Balinese Tiger is
thought to have been killed at Sumbar Kima, West Bali on 27 September 1937; this was an adult female. No Balinese Tiger
was ever held in captivity. The tiger still plays an important role in Balinese Hindu religion.

Javan tiger (Panthera tigris sondaicus)

was limited to the Indonesian island of Java. It now seems likely that this subspecies was made extinct in the 1980s,
as a result of hunting and habitat destruction, but the extinction of this subspecies was extremely probable from the 1950s
onwards (when it is thought that fewer than 25 tigers remained in the wild). The last specimen was sighted in 1979.

Caspian tiger (Panthera tigris virgat)

appears to have become extinct in the late 1960s, with the last reliable sighting in 1968. Historically it ranged through
Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, the former Soviet Union and Turkey. It was said, such a tiger was last shot dead in the
south-eastern-most Turkey in 1970.